Pin the Tail on the Victim

So what is the statute of limitations on stupid, insensitive comments?
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Public opinion now turns on which of our leaders makes the best case for having been persecuted, and which has most effectively used the words "I've suffered" as a substitute for "I'm sorry."

Perhaps this great national game of pin the tail on the victim is truly the best we can do in evaluating the "character" of our leaders. In an era in which every gaffe and blunder is recorded for eternity on YouTube, who among us is really fit to judge whether Lott or Allen is a racist? And who can decide whether the former racists have been reformed and redeemed?

Perhaps this is just too old-fashioned, but I wonder if we could agree that at least part of a person's character can be measured by his ability to say, "I am sorry. I was wrong," as opposed to "I am sorry you victimized me."